10 classic novels every girl should read before she turns 18

Ancient philosophers considered literature to be of utmost importance in a child’s education. Stories, the philosophers taught, teach morality by showing children to love what is beautiful and hate what is evil. 

There’s several classic novels that were especially important in my formation as a girl: They taught me about friendship, family, forgiveness, love, and romance. They showed me how headstrong, independent girls can become kind, loving women without giving up their spirit. These novels have withstood the test of time, and offer valuable lessons for every girl.

(These books also make great read-alouds for younger sisters, too!)

1. Heidi, Johanna Spyri

• Age range: 7–9 years old
• Set in the Swiss Alps, the plot of Heidi details the life of an orphan girl who goes to live with her reclusive grandfather. Heidi brings love and joy into the lives of the people around her with her own simple affection and spunky spirit.

2. A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett

• Age range: 8–10 years old
• Sara Crewe’s famous resolve to “be a princess” even in hardship makes this a powerful early lesson in dignity, imagination, and resilience.

3. Little House on the Prairie (and sequels), Laura Ingalls Wilder

• Age range: 8–10 years old
• The Little House series tells the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose father was a pioneer who built several different homes in the American West. It explores classic American virtues like independence and resilience.

4. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

• Age range: 8–11 years old
• This beloved classic follows Mary Lennox, a lonely and disagreeable orphan whose discovery of a hidden garden becomes a story of healing, friendship, and the quiet transformation of the heart.

5. Anne of Green Gables (and sequels), Lucy Maud Montgomery

• Age range: 10–12 years old
• The iconic orphan girl teaches modern girls important lessons about forgiveness and healing from the past. And the books later in the series have a beautiful romance!

6. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle

• Age range: 11-14 years
• Protagonist Meg Murry comes from an eccentric, though warm and loving, family and considers herself an ugly duckling. But when she, her little brother Charles Wallace, and her classmate Calvin O’Keefe get pulled into a cosmic adventure, she comes into her own.

7. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

• Age range: 12–14 years old
• This beloved novel tells the story of four sisters, all with different temperaments and talents, and the struggles they faced growing up during and in the aftermath of the Civil War. Tomboys especially will resonate with protagonist Jo.

8. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

• Age range: 14–16 years old
• Pride and Prejudice is an iconic romance about misperceptions. It also deals with themes of sisterhood, the impact of parents, and the importance of humility.

9. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

• Age range: 14–17 years old
• This Gothic-era romance depicts a dignified, principled young woman whose struggle with loneliness and desire for love make her relatable, even to modern teenagers.

10. Emma, Jane Austen

• Age range: 16-18 years old
• Emma Woodhouse is a well-meaning but often misguided “popular girl” whose journey toward humility and self-knowledge makes this one of Austen’s most rewarding novels for older teens.

Honorable mentions

There’s a few honorable mentions that we couldn’t fit in the list: Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter, Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace, The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin, and Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter.

These stories meet girls at different stages of growing up, but they share a common thread: Each heroine learns that true strength is inseparable from humility, love, and moral courage.